Kitano Tenman-gū

Infobox Shinto shrine
name = Kitano Tenman-gū
北野天満宮


width =
caption = The "haiden", or main prayer hall.
type = Tenman-gū
dedication = Tenjin
founded = 947
closed =
founder =
priest =
address = Bakuro-chō, Kamigyō-ku, Kyoto
phone = [phone]
website = http://www.kitanotenmangu.or.jp/

nihongo|Kitano Tenman-gū|北野天満宮| is a Shinto shrine in Kamigyō-ku, Kyoto, Japan. It was built in 947, to appease the angry spirit of bureaucrat, scholar and poet Sugawara no Michizane, who had been exiled as a result of political maneuvers of his enemies in the Fujiwara clan. The shrine was dedicated to him, and in 986, he was deified and conferred the title of Tenjin (Heavenly Deity).

The grounds are filled with Michizane's favorite tree, the red and white "ume" or plum blossom, and when they blossom the shrine is often very crowded. The Plum Blossom Festival is held on February 25. Open-air tea ceremonies are hosted by geiko and apprentice maiko from the nearby Kamishichiken district. The plum festival has been held on the same day every year for about 900 years to mark the death of Michizane. The outdoor tea ceremony dates back to 1952. In that year, a big festival was held to mark the 1,050th anniversary of Michizane's death, based on the historic Kitano Ochakai tea ceremony hosted at the shrine by Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

Kitano Tenmangū is popular with students praying for success in exams because the deity was in his life a man of literature and knowledge. On the 25th of every month, the shrine hosts a flea market. Together with the similar festival at Tō-ji, a temple in the same city, they inspired the Kyoto proverb, "Fair weather at the Tōji market means rainy weather at the Tenjin market," calling to mind Kyoto's fickle weather.

External links

* [http://www.kitanotenmangu.or.jp/eigo/index.html Kitano Tenman-gū Official web page] (In English)
* [http://www.kyoto-np.co.jp/kp/topics/eng/2007feb/02-25.html Kyoto Shimbun: Open-Air Tea Ceremony...] (in English)